Monthly Archives: December 2011

2011 in review (My WordPress blog report)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 18,000 times in 2011. If it were a … Continue reading

Posted in blogging, holidays | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Movies 2011: The Best and Worst (of what I watched)

One of my friends asked me to post a list of my favorite movies from this year.  Wasn’t that nice?  I appreciate someone wanting my opinion, and I shall not disappoint him.  The complication is, unlike actual guilded film critics … Continue reading

Posted in movies, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

For Christmas Morning: Victory

Maybe my favorite Christmas poem, by Elizabeth Jennings. Victory Down to that littleness, down to all that Crying and hunger, all that tiny flesh And flickering spirit – down the great stars fall, Here the great kings bow. Here the … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, holidays, religion, spirituality | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

I hate to be cranky this close to Christmas, but….

I stopped paying attention to the news, and missed this: The White House is signing off on a controversial new law that would authorize the U.S. military to arrest and indefinitely detain alleged al Qaeda members or other terrorist operatives … Continue reading

Posted in media, politics | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The War on Christmas (no, not that one)

But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time…as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, Bible, holidays, religion, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Another Mary Meditation: Love

Today we used the second of the monologues I wrote for our Advent services.  My sig. file (back in the days when I had a sig file) was a quote from Dostoyevsky:  “Active love is labor and fortitude.”  That quote … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, Bible, religion, spirituality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

On women reading the Bible

I thought about leaving this topic alone.  All day yesterday, as I saw the subject popping up on one site after another, I deliberately kept away from this blog; didn’t allow myself to start drafting a response in my head.  … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Christian Ministry, church, gender, religion, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Tony Perkins and free market Jesus

We are all tempted to appropriate Jesus for our political positions.  This isn’t new.  Occupy protesters carry signs that say “Jesus was a Socialist” while Herman Cain described Jesus as the “perfect conservative”.  Squint hard enough and you can make … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, politics, religion, spirituality | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary’s Meditation: Preparation

Each Sunday through  this Advent a dramatic monologue from Mary’s point of view is included in our church service.  I was assigned to write two of them, and the first of mine was presented this morning.  The theme was “preparation”, … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, art, Bible, spirituality | Tagged , , | Leave a comment